If you don’t stand up to the Big Bullies, all the little bullies will come out of the woodwork.

Lake Point is a Big Bully. The Lindemann family has a reputation for using unlimited resources to sue opposition into submission.

In 2008 George Lindemann Jr.’s Lake Point group paid $53 million for a wet sugar cane field in western Martin County. He said he had no business plan and did no appraisals. He bought in the middle of the 2008 financial crash.

Lake Point lost millions from 2008 to 2013 trying to sell rock when the market had bottomed out. Then they tried to recoup their investment by selling water.

When that didn’t work he sued everyone in sight.

They sued South Florida Water Management District because the District told them they couldn’t sell water.

They sued Martin County because the County insisted on enforcing the terms of their agreement they had with SFWMD.

They sued me to make me be quiet.

Back in 2016 Judge McManus awarded summary judgment to SFWMD ruling that the contract they had with Lake Point did not allow Lake Point to sell water

After five years of being legally bullied and after their own attorneys said they could win, SFWMD gave up and told Lake Point they could sell water and mine the property for fifty years. Under the settlement they would have absolutely no responsibility to provide any promised public benefits. The attorney who advised them to settle then quit and went to work for Lake Point's lobbyist.

The SFWMD is now spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on outside attorneys to make sure that no one EVER sees the transcript of the secret meeting where the SFWMD Board decided to turn victory into defeat at public expense.

Two months after the District settled, Martin County succumbed to legal bullying and gave Lake Point everything they wanted including an abject apology and $12 million dollars of taxpayers' money.

I’m the last one standing.

I am not giving up in spite of the $4.3 million dollar verdict against me in Judge Roby's court.

According to the US Supreme Court: “those who won our independence believed ... that public discussion is a political duty, and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government.”

Lake Point insisted that sending emails to your commissioners at their home address was illegal.

It is not.

They said I made false statements about them. I did not. I would be happy to review with anyone all of the statements I made and why they are true. My concerns about Lake Point were raised early and repeated often. They were not secret.

Lake Point says I made the County issue a Notice of Violation. County staff testified that I had nothing to do with the Violation Notice they issued.

They said I attempted to influence my elected officials on important public issues. According to the Supreme Court, that is not illegal. The highest court in the land said that was a bedrock of democracy.

Lake Point convinced Judge Roby to tell the jury that the first amendment does not apply to contracts.

It does.

Why am I spending my old age fighting a billionaire bully?

Imagine what politics would be like if citizens could not criticize a government contract without being sued for millions of dollars. If you found your officials were giving away the store with your tax dollars, you couldn’t mention it.

Imagine how that would hurt democracy and help corruption.

Several of the best first amendment lawyers in the country have offered to handle my appeal. They believe there are important constitutional issues involved.

I’m proud and happy to have them defending me and defending our Constitution.

Equally important to me is what it would do to Martin County if I give up and the Big Bully wins on all fronts .Lake Point would own us.

Imagine what it would be like if Martin County put out a big red sign that said:

SUE US AND WE WILL SURRENDER

Our comprehensive plan would become a meaningless piece of paper given away piece by piece in secret “settlement negotiations.”

If they thought the Big Bullies and the little bullies were going to sue them, no resident would dare to send an email or walk up to the podium to talk to the county commission.

Martin County is what it is because residents have never been afraid to tell their commissioners what kind of county they want to live in. That’s why we’re different. Left to themselves, too many politicians will do what special interest want and hope the public doesn’t notice.

If we lose the passionate public participation of Martin County residents, we will lose what made us special..

The Constitution is worth fighting for.

Martin County is worth fighting for.

I don’t believe we can let a biased judge and a vengeful billionaire redefine first amendment rights.

We kept the faith. We fought the good fight.

We will finish the race.

Thank you for having my back,

Maggy Reno Hurchalla

The Slappee
with Slapp Protector attorneys Howard Heims and GinnySherlock on a
court ordered inspection tour of Lake Point.